The next Matsuzaka...

[RollingWave]

Check out these youtubes of this year's Koshien highschool tournement, particularly this kid Yoshinori Sato

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAzaNudgAJs

17 K, most on 80ish mph sliders, but then towards the LATER half the of the game he reached back and blew 97 mph fastballs by guys.. wtf why even bother with a slider?

And then in the 4th round, he hit 98 mph o_O
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwQTb-6uEBI

the kid didn't even win the tournement, the final came down to a super all elite team vs a public school team... and the public school won o_O down by 4 in 8th they got away with a strike out that turned into a bases loaded walk and followed by a HR for a truely crazy cool finish to the tournement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1bxEHgaN5M
finals highlights.

[Tabata]

Can we got him now or do we have to wait 9 more years and pay $100m for the rights?

[RollingWave]

the NPB have done a nice job in keeping most of their kids at home, but i think it's a matter of time some bolts strait to the US.

[YASS]

the NPB have done a nice job in keeping most of their kids at home, but i think it's a matter of time some bolts strait to the US.

If he did bolt, he wouldn't be the first (Tomo Ohka comes to mind as a precedent), but I wouldn't count on it.

[Tabata]

What's his DOB?

[Tabata]

Check out these youtubes of this year's Koshien highschool tournement, particularly this kid Yoshinori Sato

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAzaNudgAJs

17 K, most on 80ish mph sliders, but then towards the LATER half the of the game he reached back and blew 97 mph fastballs by guys.. wtf why even bother with a slider?

And then in the 4th round, he hit 98 mph o_O
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwQTb-6uEBI

the kid didn't even win the tournement, the final came down to a super all elite team vs a public school team... and the public school won o_O down by 4 in 8th they got away with a strike out that turned into a bases loaded walk and followed by a HR for a truely crazy cool finish to the tournement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1bxEHgaN5M
finals highlights.

My god does he look like Dice-K there or what.

[RollingWave]

Tomo Ohka was drafted by the NPB team.. the Baystar I believe, he was actually traded to Boston at a young age . that was before the whole posting thing went up though.

[NYNJYank]

Jesus christ he's nasty. I know the hitters were just way overmatched but that doesnt take away from the movement and velocity on those pitches.
Is there a difference in distance from the mound to home over there compared to here?

[chanman7483]

wow, the windup and delivery is the exact same...

[nojoke]

Wasn't Kei Igawa nasty too?

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Love the topic and the vid. The choice of forums, not so much.

EDIT: Moved from ATM

[mentalgidget]

After watching Dice-K for 3/4 of the season I can see the similarities. Unfortunately, after watching Dice-k for 3/4 of a season I know that major leaguers don't swing at those pitches

[scull567]

His stuff looks nasty but is every hitter Soriano over there? They all seem to be chasing sliders a foot off the plate and in the dirt...jeeez.

[ppa79]

Get him now. Then we don't have to worry about posting or waiting until he is 30 to become a free agent. It looks like he would be a 1st rounder if he was in the US

[Skars]

id be impressed if he threw even one of those sliders somewhere in the vicinity of what would be called the strike zone

edit: he did throw one for a strike there. pitchers are always going to look good if you just show their strikeouts. he did give up 2 runs though

[metalboy15]

How old is this kid?

[metalboy15]

Wasn't Kei Igawa nasty too?

Igawa rarely break 90 mph before going to the states, and he pitched up in the zone as well, this kid is what 16? 17? and he already throws 94-97 mph with movement.

See the difference?

[RhodyYanksFan]

US born pitchers drafted out of high school are risky enough...forget about a Korean HS kid.

[Yankyfan]

I thought he was Japanese ?

[RhodyYanksFan]

I thought he was Japanese ?

Regardless...pitchers drafted out of high school have the lowest MLB success rate of the 4 main players drafted (HS pitcher, HS position player, college pitcher, college position player).

[Yankyfan]

Regardless...pitchers drafted out of high school have the lowest MLB success rate of the 4 main players drafted (HS pitcher, HS position player, college pitcher, college position player).

The chance's of signing a Korean HS kid are better then one from Japan.

[bmxstreetrider86]

they also have the highest upside

[Jonny]

I thought Yu Darvish was the next Matsuzaka?

[Donnybaseball72]

If he is Korean then signing him shouldn't be much different than Latin American amatuers. Byung-Hung Kim, Sunny Kim, Choi were all signed as teens and went through our minor leagues.

[Yankyfan]

If he is Korean then signing him shouldn't be much different than Latin American amatuers. Byung-Hung Kim, Sunny Kim, Choi were all signed as teens and went through our minor leagues.

Thats why I asked....I think he's Japanese though